A legend is dead.
Beyond the fact that the properties the Left corrupts become instruments of Marxist propaganda, one of the biggest tragedies of the “woke” takeover of entertainment is that they cease to even be fun and entertaining anymore.
Now the social justice warriors have set their sights on and pulled the trigger on one of the most popular, and most “problematic,” of comic book characters — the Punisher. The fictional Frank Castle, the ex-Marine who turns to a life of brutal vigilantism after his family is murdered by criminals, is no more, as Marvel killed him off in ignominious fashion.
The character has become an icon among right-leaning demographics, including veterans and police officers.
Despite being a vigilante who takes the law into his own hands and is often sadistic in his treatment of criminals, the Punisher’s code has nevertheless gained traction among cops and the military because of his own history as a man who served his country and because his ruthless rejection of sympathy for evil seems to go against the modern leftist grain of coddling criminals while condemning those who simply are trying to protect themselves and their families.
The appeal of the Punisher, then, is similar to the appeal of Clint Eastwood’s Dirty Harry. Notably, both characters arose in the ’70s and tapped in to a widespread cultural backlash against the Marxist idealism of the ’60s that, far from ushering in peace on earth, had only led to rampant lawlessness, particularly in the cities.
The staff at ZeroHedge brilliantly boiled down why the Punisher quickly became such a captivating symbol in this modern era:
The Punisher character (Frank Castle), originally created by writer Gerry Conway in 1974 with artists Ross Andru and John Romita, was a product of a chaotic era; a reaction to the rise of war, stagflation, instability and exploding crime rates in the US. The Punisher’s story is a tragedy of a returning military veteran whose family is killed during what seems to be a gangland hit. With federal agencies doing little to arrest the perpetrators, Castle takes matters into his own hands and begins systematically assassinating the criminals.
The concept of citizen crime stopping and vigilantism was becoming popular in the cultural zeitgeist in the 70s, with many people living in metropolitan areas dealing with increasing criminal violence and unreliable government protection. City governments in places like New York were actively restricting gun rights for law abiding people, which only made things easier for criminals.
The same exact conditions are returning to the US today, and debate is boiling once again on vigilantes (just look at the media fury over Kyle Rittenhouse or Daniel Penny). The mainstream left is adamantly opposed to any form of civilian intervention (unless it’s Antifa or BLM), while also being adamantly opposed to any intervention by police. In other words, they want to let criminals run wild and then threaten to prosecute anyone who dares to do anything about it.
Of course, while this aspect of the Punisher character made him popular among conservatives, police, and veterans, it likewise made him the subject of outrage among leftists. The fact that Castle is violent, that he is a veteran, and that he shows no mercy to those who show the innocent no mercy — all flew in the face of left-wing sensibilities far too much.
For quite some time, the increasingly leftist minds at Marvel tried to rein the character in. Now, they have officially pulled the plug. As ZeroHedge notes:
They first attempted to make fundamental changes to the character, including a redesign of his popular skull symbol, as well as taking away his guns and giving him swords in 2021. Instead of fighting against criminal organizations, Frank Castle joins with one, violating his fundamental code of ethics.
This month, though, Marvel officially declared the Punisher persona non grata, eliminating the character as readers know him. Did he go out in a blaze of glory? No, in typical woke fashion Frank Castle is captured by progressive heroes, chained up and forced to go through a struggle session in which he is admonished as a murderer and a terrorist. Marvel even brings the Punisher’s wife back from the dead, only so that she can divorce him and take his money and property, and then inform him that his lifelong crusade against the criminal underworld was all for nothing.
The character then “dies” from apparent suicide but the story is left open to his return, just not as the gun-toting hero people know and love.
There is something very insightful about the Punisher and the controversy surrounding him — something that isn’t so readily apparent except upon deep contemplation.
The reason the Left hates him so vehemently is because he is not, as many mistakenly assert, a morally gray character. On the contrary, his morality is strikingly black and white. In the Punisher’s view, there is a clear line of good and evil. The good and upright deserve to be protected at all cost. The evil, those who prey on the good, deserve to face unabated justice.
While his actions can appear gratuitous, the Punisher is, in fact, a return to the clear moral dichotomies and brutal justice once held up as the typical heroic example everywhere from the Bible (think of men like Gideon, Samson, and David unhesitatingly slaying the enemies of God) to classical mythology.
The fact that the Punisher kills is not in conflict with heroism. On the contrary, it is in line with it. Both the Bible and classical lore teach us that evil must be vanquished, not allowed to roam free so that it can keep perpetuating more evil.
The Saxon Cross made this point well in a post in which he contrasts classical morality with “Marvel morality,” writing:
Classical heroes kill their enemies. This is really their most essential job. The role of the hero archetype is to slay dragons and evil kings. Their purpose is to root out evil. They may show mercy on occasion, but this is not their primary role. Mercy-giver is the role of the king. The Folk Hero’s job is a violent one for the sake of good.
However, your typical modern era hero story almost always includes a moment where the villain must be offered a chance for “rehabilitation”, or must stand trial, or where the hero does everything in his power to avoid using deadly force out of some moral reluctance. The modern hero is suspiciously full of reluctance to stamp out evil.
Although Marvel morality may seem, to modern sensibilities, the true path of heroism, it is ludicrous when you really think about its implications and consequences.
Think of Batman. He famously eschews killing. In storyline after storyline, he captures the Joker and always refuses to put an end to him — even though he knows it’s only a matter of time before the Joker escapes and once more goes on a killing spree. The same can be said for nearly every popular superhero.
The Punisher represents the old hero archetype, one that is still celebrated by many conservatives — that of the hero who has no tolerance for evil. Sadly, that’s the kind of character the modern entertainment industry has no tolerance for.
Readers who want traditional morality in their fiction will have to turn to right-leaning alternatives such as Arkhaven Comics, where political correctness and social justice have no place.
